Ash tray with cavities for extinguishing cigarettes



y 1957 E. P. AGHNIDES 2,798,498

ASH TRAY WITH CAVITIES FOR EXTINGUISHING CIGARETTES Filed May 18, 1953 Z? Z? M 4 y a .M, a a W, /.i

INVENTOR mafia;

ATTORNEYS l l 1 l ASH TRAY WITH CAVITIES FOR EXTINGUISHING CIGARETTES Elie P. Aghnides, New York, N. Y.

Application May 18, 1953, Serial No. 355,816

6 Claims. (Cl. 131-235) This invention relates to ash trays and more particularly to those having small cavities for extinguishing cigarettes.

One object of this invention is to provide an ash tray with numerous small cavities for extinguishing cigarettes in which the cavities operate more efi'iciently in accomplishing their intended function than heretofore.

Another object of this invention is to provide an ash tray provided with numerous small cavities for extinguishing cigarettes in which the small cavities may be used more than once without the necessity of emptying the butts from the ash tray.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ash tray that is safer in use and less likely to be a fire hazard than prior art ash trays.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an ash tray that is easy to clean.

A further object of the invention is to provide an ash tray upon which a cigarette may rest between smokes and which limits the contact between the cigarette and the ash tray to a veiy small area, whereby wetting of the cigarette paper is avoided when the cigarette is resting on the ash tray.

In carrying out the foregoing objects, I provide an ash tray with upper and lower parts which so nest to gether as to form a plurality of small cavities into which burning cigarettes may be dropped to extinguish them. The cross-section of the upper end of the cavity is large enough to allow ready insertion of the cigarette therein and the lower end of the cavity is preferably of such small cross-section that a burning cigarette dropped therein is soon extinguished due to lack of air. Novelty also resides in the arrangement for forming the small cavities, and in an arrangement whereby the cigarette butts may be removed from the small cavities into a larger tray by merely lifting partially or completely the upper nested part. Various other features of novelty will appear as this description proceeds.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of the invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-section taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 2a is a cross-section taken along lines 2a2a of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a modified form of the invention.

In Figures 1 and 2, the ash tray has a lower outer bowl 20 having an integral upstanding partition 21 which runs the length of the lower bowl. A removable upper member 22. has a central perforated portion having ten openings 23 defined by the grid 24. Located under each of the several cross-members or ribs 25 is a web 26 which together with the partition 21 divides the space elow the grid 24 into ten cavities, with an opening 23 \bove each cavity. Aligned with the top edge of partian 21 is an elongated projection 27, the upper surface hich constitutes rib 28. Since the upper part 22 carvertical panels 29 the cavities are substantially wholly ed except at their upper ends.

the smoker desires to extinguish his cigarette Patented July 9, 1957 he merely drops it into one of the cavities 23 with the burning end facing downwardly. A separate cavity is provided for each cigarette to be extinguished, and when all of the cavities 23 are filled the smoker merely lifts the upper part 22 a few inches above the lower part. This allows the cigarette butts to fall mi of the sloping ledges 30 into the outer cavities 31. In order to render the butts in cavities 31 as obscure as possible overhanging lips 32 are provided. These are located adjacent cigarette rests 33, as shown in order to deflect ashes etc. which may fall or be placed in the ash cavities 31 away from the shoulders between the members 30 and 31 so that the space adjacent and below the shoulders may be maintained clear to receive butts etc., from the extinguishing cavities.

Figure 3 illustrates a modified form of the device in which the webs 39 carried by the upper part 22 are similar to the webs 26 of Figure 2 and are integral with the lower part 20'; otherwise the construction of Figure 3 is identical with that of Figure 2.

In all forms of this invention the size of the cigarette cavity may be reduced in its cross-section as the depth increases either by thickening the .webs, or inclining the walls or both as shown in Figure 8. The cavity is preferably made large enough at its top to readily receive a cigarette, and becomes smaller at its bottom portion, so that when the lower end of each cavity is only slightly larger in cross-section than the cross-section of the cigarette the latter will readily be extinguished. A bottom portion of elongated cross section as narrow as the diameter of a cigarette will give comparable results and it will, moreover, provide space for the ashes disposed of in the cavities.

This application is related to my prior copendin-g applications as follows: Serial 183,542 filed September 7, 1950, now U. S. Patent No. 2,710,611 issued June 14, 1955, entitled, Ash Tray, Serial No. 301,515 filed July 29, 1952 entitled, Ash Tray With a Large Number of Cavities for Extinguishing Cigarettes, Serial No. 301,516, filed July 29, 1952, entitled, Ash Tray With Cavity for Reception of Ashes, Serial No. 301,517, filed July 29, 1952 entitled, Ash Tray With Improved Means for Entinguishing Cig arettes, and Serial No. 301,518 filed July 29, 1952 entitled, Ash Tray With Improved Cavities for Extinguishing Cigarettes.

In connection with all forms of the invention the cavities are so deep that the smoker ordinarily cannot crush his cigarette butt against the bottom of the cavity, say at least one half inch or more deep. The cavities at their upper ends are substantially larger than a cigarette and at their lower ends are preferably of much smaller crosssection than the openings at the upper ends so that the cigarette ends dropped in the cavities extinguish faster than they would otherwise.

The openings shown in the drawings are rectangular in shape but obviously could be round, oval or of any other shape.

The ash trays described herein could be made of molded material such as glass, plastic, etc. could be cast, or made in any other suitable way or of any other suitable material.

While there have been described above what are at present believed to be the preferred forms of the invention, other forms will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. All such variations as fall within the true spirit of the invention are intended to be covered by the generic terms of the claims set forth below.

I claim to have invented:

1. An ash tray comprising a bowl and a removable top, said top comprising a grid having cigarette rests and lip members extending transversely to each other, said grid having means adapted to provide extinguishing cavf 'es when said grid is raised and separated from the bowl, and said lip being adapted to convey ashes which may fall from a cigarette in a rest away from that portion of the ash receiving cavities which is adjacent said shoulders thereby maintaining said ash receiving cavities available for repeated use to receive stubs from said extinguishing cavities.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, said bowl having an upstanding partition therein and spaced from the side walls thereof.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2, said shoulders 'being raised from the bottom of the bowl and having upwardly extending portions merging into a vertical tray partition.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3, said top being vertically movable and having a pair of depending walls with one wall spaced from said partition on each side thereof so as to define a pair of chambers above said shoulders.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1, the walls of said bowl sloping outwardly, said top having a portion resting on the upper edge of said bowl and extending thereabove.

6. The combination set forth in claim 1, said top comprising four grids in the form of a cross and leaving the corner portions of said bowl covered only by said lip members which curve downwardly in the direction of opposite walls of said bowl.

References Citedv in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS D. 144,410 Newman Apr. 9, 1946 813,918 Schmitz Feb. 27, 1906 1,614,910 Yarder Jan. 18, 1927 1,688,887 Spreen Oct. 23, 1928 2,029,139 Szabo Jan. 28, 1936 2,182,454 Sherman Dec. 5, 1939 2,220,784 Gee Nov. 5, 1940 2,470,501 Leaman May 17, 1949 2,480,816 Turulis Aug. 30, 1949 2,518,849 Agee' Aug. 15, 1950 2,577,959 Gattuso Dec. 11, 1951 2,733,721 Kitchens et a1. Feb. 7, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 299,186 Great Britain Oct. 25, 1928 422,431 Great Britain Jan. 11, 1935 536,128 Great Britain May 5, 1941 617,670 Great Britain Feb. 9, 1949 

